Guitar players everywhere know the feeling: you play the same song over and over and it gets boring. You need a change of chords…
Maybe guitar makers are no different: Gibson Guitar offers $52 million to buy 54.4% of the issued and outstanding shares of TEAC. The tender offer period began April 1, 2013 and will remain open for 21 Japanese business days.
Upon completion of the acquisition, TEAC will expand the size and reach of Gibson’s Pro Audio business, with products that complement the KRK, Cerwin-Vega!, and Stanton portfolio of studio monitors, sound reinforcement equipment, and DJ gear respectively.
In future product development, TEAC has the potential to add value to the Gibson MI (musical instrument) segments, and even with the fretted instrument category.
And this deal adds to the premium consumer electronics with Gibson’s other Japanese strategic partner, Onkyo.
TEAC is already widely recognized for high grade audio through its Esoteric brand, including multichannel recorders, handheld recorders, and Apple iOS devices, with growing opportunities in mixers and computer audio interfaces.
Another overlap in interests: TEAC is acknowledged as initiating the home recording revolution by introducing affordable multitrack recording, a technology invented by Les Paul-- whose namesake Gibson guitar has established itself as the most coveted electric guitar of all time.
TEAC’s product lines range from industrial data acquisition and storage, high-end audio, disc publishing, medical video, and broadcast into a broad-based consumer market through their TASCAM division. The company’s leadership in multichannel recorders, sound contractor products, field recorders, audio interfaces, and more has resulted in breakthrough products like the self-contained Portastudio that includes all elements needed to produce professional-quality recordings while retaining a consumer-friendly price.
This is yet another step in Gibson’s aim to become the largest music and sound business in.
In January 2012, Gibson announced a strategic alliance with Onkyo, a worldwide leader in consumer audio, where both companies made investments into each other.
TEAC will continue to be led by the current management while Gibson Guitar, obviously, is all for playing new tunes.